ONLY TIME SHALL TELL
Usagi rested her head on one hand and absently dipped her straw into her milkshake. She stared at the pink liquid and sighed. Raising the straw from the glass, she watched the milkshake drip into the glass and thought about what had happened.
Haruka and Michiru had appeared out of nowhere warning them about a new, mysterious enemy.
Drip.
Rei's shrine burned to the ground, nearly killing both Rei and her grandfather.
Drip.
Haruka and Michiru disappeared without a trace for several days.
Drip.
Kami started acting strangely, missing school and avoiding Usagi and her friends like the plague, probably because of how Haruka and Michiru acted when they met her.
Drip.
The school burned down. Still no word from Mamoru and Chibiusa, who were supposed to be back yesterday
"Usagi?" a gentle voice said.
Usagi raised her head. Ami, Minako, Makoto, and Rei were all looking at her with worry filled eyes. Usagi smiled and sat up straighter.
"I'm okay," she said. "Just thinking about things. Mostly about Haruka and Michiru."
Ami smiled. "They'll show up."
"It's just like them to take off like that," Rei added.
"Look on the bright side," Minako said. "We have a few days off school."
Usagi nodded mutely. Her friends exchanged a four way look. It wasn't like Usagi to be upset about not missing school.
The door to the café opened and Kami came in, looking around for someone. Makoto raised her hand to get Kami's attention and the girl came over to join them.
"What's wrong, Usagi-chan?" Kami asked.
Usagi shook her head. "Nothing."
Kami shrugged. "You guys want to come to the gym with me? There's a really neat exercise class going on in a few hours."
Makoto smiled. "Sure. What kind of class?"
Kami thought for a moment. "I think it's like step class, only in water."
Ami raised her head. "You're going swimming? I'll come."
Minako nodded. "I'll come and brush up on my volleyball."
Kami turned to Rei and Usagi. "You two want to come too?"
Rei looked at Usagi. The blonde girl was staring at her milkshake again, her eyes filled with worry and sadness. Rei hit her shoulder.
"Of course we'll come," she said.
Kami smiled. "Great. Meet me there in an hour. We'll do some warm ups before we start."
Kami rose to her feet, waved to her friends, and left the café. The scouts turned their conversation to more pleasant things, leaving the matter of the dark queen and missing outer scouts behind them for a while.
Neptune opened her eyes and saw nothing. She floated weightlessly in space surrounded by darkness, the only light coming from somewhere on her person. Neptune turned her head first to the right, then the left and saw only blackness all around her. She didn't know if she was right side up, or up side down as she drifted, only that she was alone and Uranus was nowhere to be seen.
"Uranus?" Neptune called. Her voice didn't even produce an echo through the thick air.
Neptune's hand went to her mirror, the Talisman that had been locked inside her pure heart and had brought the Sacred Cup and the Messiah to the world. She felt it's glow before she saw it and realized it was the source of her light. With a surprised gasp, she brought it to her face and gazed into it.
She saw Usagi and the inner scouts seated around a table in the café where they always met. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but her chest tightened as Kami entered the scene. Neptune nearly screamed out at Usagi and the others in an attempt to warn them about the girl, but she stayed silent. Their trusting princess was about to be betrayed and destroyed and there was nothing she could do from her timeless prison.
She clutched the mirror to her chest and wondered what Haruka was doing, if she had survived in this cold, lifeless cell. Suddenly, the mirror warmed in her hands and a beam of bluish green light sped straight up out of her mirror, like the headlights of a car. Neptune's eyes widened in shock, but she didn't move. Perhaps, just perhaps, someone would see the light. Perhaps there was a way out of this prison and back to the world she could only view through her mirror.
Queen Olivine stared at Lord Cano with her dark, cruel eyes. The Lord of Fire licked his lips nervously, but stood tall under her gaze, waiting for her to speak. Olivine sat back and smiled suddenly, unnerving Cano.
"I believe this situation calls for a different approach," Olivine decided. "Lord Cano, you have done fair work for me, but this time it is beyond your expertise."
Olivine snapped her fingers and a new shadow stepped forward into the light. The woman had long white hair tied back in a lose ponytail and icy blue eyes. Her ears were pointed and she wore a tight fitting top and long skirt. She bowed before the queen.
"Aquis, you will proceed from here," Olivine ordered.
The woman smiled. "Yes, Majesty. Mistress Aquis of Water will make your enemies miserable."
Olivine frowned. "Explain your tactic, Aquis."
The blue woman straightened. "Yes, Majesty. While Cano had tried to destroy through destruction, I will slowly take away everything the Moon Princess holds dear - starting with her friends."
Olivine smiled. "You and I think alike, Aquis. I have already ensured that the two suspicious scouts will not come back. I leave the others to you. Do not harm them, though. I want them all alive to see the instrument of their planet's destruction."
Aquis and Cano both bowed and vanished.
Usagi, Rei, Makoto, Minako, and Ami stood outside gazing up at the tall building. It was a recent addition to Crossroads - an office building with a three floor gym on the top, complete with a roof top swimming pool. Usagi smiled to herself.
"Michiru would like to be here," she said softly.
Rei laughed. "Michiru and Haruka wouldn't come. They don't like doing thing with us."
"Shall we go up?" Ami asked. "Kami didn't say where exactly to meet her."
"Here's as good a place as any," a new voice said behind them.
The five girls turned to see Kami standing behind them, smiling cheerfully. She held a small bag in one hand and was wearing gray sweat pants and a blue tank top. She had a white sweat band around her forehead.
"I thought we were exercising in water," Usagi said.
Kami laughed. "I decided to use the free weights while you guys take the class," she said.
"Why don't we do weights with you?" Makoto asked.
Kami walked past them and into the building. "Weights are so boring. You'll have a much better time in the water. After the aerobics class there's a free-swim for everyone. I'll join you then."
The girls exchanged a five way glance, shrugged, and followed Kami into the building.
"Good afternoon, class," the instructor said. "We seem to only have a few people today, but that's okay. The fewer people, the better!"
The instructor was a tall woman with long white hair tied back in a lose ponytail and icy blue eyes. She had a step set up in front of her outside the pool and was facing the area where her class was standing. Ami, Minako, and Makoto were in the front in waist deep water standing in front of their submerged steps. Rei and Usagi were behind them. There was no one else in the class.
The instructor turned on the music behind her and began to start her routine. The group before her followed her movements, stepping in time with the music on their underwater steps. From the shadowed doorway, a solitary figure watched the progress of the class.
Neptune sighed as the light from her mirror faded, and disappeared completely. She was alone again in total blackness, lost in timeless space. Her thoughts again turned to Uranus, also trapped in this void yet unseen. She wanted with all her heart to see Haruka again, to touch her one last time -
A light pierced the darkness. Neptune turned to head towards it, shocked by its blinding ferocity. Without thinking, she began to move toward it, gaining speed as the light grew larger. She didn't know how she moved, only that she did. What seemed like an eternity later, the light grew so large and bright that it consumed Neptune completely and all traces of the darkness vanished.
Sailor Neptune felt something solid beneath her feet. She opened her eyes, not realizing that they had been closed, and gasped. In front of her stood Sailor Uranus, her face in a half-smile as she watched Neptune. Her sword was glowing brightly and Neptune's mirror echoed the shine as if in greeting.
"Haruka," Neptune breathed, running into Uranus' waiting arms.
They embraced and held each other close, as if it had been years since their last contact. Finally, hesitantly, Uranus broke off the embrace and held Neptune at arm's length.
"I thought you were gone forever," Uranus whispered. "I nearly lost hope until you suddenly appeared."
Neptune smiled fondly. "Where are we?"
The two reunited scouts looked around and discovered they were surrounded by a pale mist. Uranus felt Neptune's hand tighten in hers. Suddenly from out of the mist, a silhouetted form appeared, walking toward them. Sailor Uranus held her sword at the ready and Neptune watched the approaching form with malice in her eyes. The form stepped free of the mist.
"Sailor Pluto!" Uranus and Neptune gasped.
Sailor Pluto, the Senshi of Time and Guardian of the Time Gate smiled at her two friends. She held her staff in one hand and the talisman at the top glowed in recognition of the other two talismans.
"We thought you were dead!" Uranus said.
Pluto shook her head. "I have lived since before the Silver Millennium and will continue to live when Small Lady rules Crystal Tokyo. I have only temporarily ceased to exist in your time."
"What are you doing here?" Neptune asked.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Pluto replied. "You have reached the Time Gate safely. The talismans were drawn to each other, which prevented you from remaining lost for eternity in the corridors of time. Come."
Sailor Pluto turned and walked back into the mist. Sailors Uranus and Neptune followed. The mists began to clear and an enormous doorway appeared. It was inscribed with the insignia of the planets and Sailor Pluto halted in front of it.
"Now," Pluto said. "What brings you here?"
Quickly, the other two scouts explained about the newest threat to Tokyo, the evil Queen Olivine and how Usagi's friend Kami was going to destroy her. Pluto listened carefully.
"So, it has come already," she said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Uranus demanded.
Pluto raised her head to look at her friends. "How much has Usagi told you about before you met? Has she revealed anything about the second battle with the Negaverse?"
"A little," Uranus admitted. "She told us about the Dark Scout and Sailor Sun."
Pluto nodded. "I think it is time for me to reveal the entire truth that not even Usagi knows about. That is the origin of the dark force that once possessed Sailor Sun and now has returned to possess her again."
"Thousands of years ago, there were sailor senshi all over the galaxy. We were a close knit group of comrades and we fought together against the evil of Chaos. In the end, Chaos was defeated but what the senshi didn't know was that Chaos had split itself into three parts. We had destroyed a large part of Chaos, but the other two remained. One of the parts became the Negaforce whom Sailor Moon fought and destroyed when it was in the form of Empress Metallia. The third part, the strongest and most dangerous, disappeared.
"During the Silver Millennium under Queen Serenity, the third part made itself known. It attacked the Moon Kingdom, not a full attack like Queen Beryl had launched; it took a more subtle approach. This dark force was conniving and it could inhabit the mind of whomever it chose. It whispered darkness into the person, molding them to its will. The dark force cause a revolution in the Moon Kingdom led by a young man named Rutile who was convinced he was the rightful ruler of the Moon Kingdom and brother of the evil Negaverse queen, Beryl. Queen Serenity managed to break down the revolution and drive the dark force from Rutile's mind by using the Silver Crystal. Queen Serenity had thought the man destroyed by the energy she used to save him. She knew her kingdom would never be safe unless the force was destroyed, so she sealed it within the Sun for all time."
Sailor Pluto paused in her narration. "You both know what happened after that; Usagi has told you both."
"But who is the dark queen?" Neptune asked. "How does she fit into all of this?"
"And how is it that Kami was kind and gentle before and now has become so evil?" Uranus added.
Pluto smiled. "Patience," she said. "I'm getting to that part."
"Sailor Sun destroyed the Prince Rutile for good by allowing the dark force to consume him. She and the inner senshi both thought it was gone for good, but the dark force was still alive. It had grown stronger from Rutile's energy and waited in the depths of the Negaverse for the chance to return to the world of men. "
Sailor Pluto shook her head. "I don't know how it got to her again, but somehow the dark force has taken control of Kami the same way it had controlled Rutile on the Moon Kingdom."
"But how can Kami be queen of a planet if she is the senshi of the sun?" Uranus demanded. "We were there, on the planet the dark queen ruled. We saw it ourselves."
Pluto sighed. "I don't know that either. I have never heard of the planet you're talking about. I don't have all the answers, only enough to clarify a few things."
Pluto smiled at her friends. "It's time to return you to our Princess, so you can protect her from the girl she trusts. Just be careful when dealing with Kami in front of Usagi - she takes her friendships very seriously and the inner senshi trust Kami more than you two right now."
Neptune and Uranus nodded. Pluto pointed her staff at the Time Gate and the two massive doors opened. Pale purple mists spilt out, circling Sailor Pluto's ankles.
"Hold onto each other," Pluto advised, "so you don't become lost in time again. This path will take you back to your present day."
"Come with us," Neptune said.
Pluto shook her head sadly. "There is no place for me in your time now. Perhaps one day I'll be able to return. Until then it is up to you two to protect Princess Serenity from her enemies. Good luck."
Sailor Uranus took Neptune's hand firmly. "Thank you," she said.
Pluto smiled and watched her two friends enter the Time Gate.
"Come on, one more time," the instructor called.
Usagi puffed as she tried to step in time with the music and the instructor. It seemed impossible and she had no idea how her friends were doing it.
When she thought no one was watching her, Usagi ducked beneath the water and swam to the edge of the pool. Quietly, she climbed out and went to wait for her friends in the change room. She briefly wondered if her friends would be mad at her for leaving early.
"One last step," the instructor was saying. "Get ready to die!"
Usagi whirled around at the last word and saw the instructor had stopped her lesson and a monster stood beside her. Usagi's friends were sealed from the waist down in what had until recently been water.
"Get them," the instructor said, "but don't kill them."
"Yes, Mistress," the creature said.
The monster looked like a human, with scales for skin and fins protruding from the top and sides of her head. Ami, Rei, Minako, and Makoto struggled to free themselves from the gelatinous trap as the fish monster drew closer. Usagi retreated to a dark doorway to transform.
"Moon Cosmic Power, Make -"
"Hey Usagi-chan!" Kami called from the doorway.
Usagi quickly hid her transformation broach as Kami approached her. The girl was sweaty from her workout and carried a towel and swimsuit in one hand.
"Where's everyone else?" Kami asked.
"They're still in the pool," Usagi replied.
"Great," said Kami. "Let's join them."
Kami started toward the door that led to the pool, but Usagi held out her hand to stop her friend.
"Wait," Usagi said. "Why don't you show me the rest of the club?"
Kami looked at her suspiciously. "Okay, Usagi-chan, but I thought you wanted to swim."
"Later," Usagi replied with a sheepish grin. "I'll meet you in the hall."
Kami looked like she was about to say something, but only smiling and headed into the hall. Usagi waited a few seconds to make sure she was gone and held up her transformation broach again.
"Moon Cosmic -"
"Usagi-chan, are you coming?" Kami asked, sticking her head back into the hallway.
Usagi looked into the pool area and saw her friends being attacked by the fish monster, yet knew she could not transform when Kami was around. With one longing glance back at her troubled friends, she followed Kami into the hall.
Kami opened the door to a small room located directly above the pool. Usagi went in and saw nothing but chairs facing a tall series of windows. Kami remained in the doorway as Usagi peered out the window and tried unsuccessfully to mask her shock and fear.
"This is where you can watch the people swimming," Kami said. "Stay here for a minute and I'll bring back the schedule of the times when you can swim. I'll just be right outside the door."
Kami closed the door behind her and Usagi pressed herself against the window, wishing desperately that it wasn't there. The scene below was tragic. The 'instructor' was standing off to one side, watching with a smile on her face. The fish monster was in the water now picking off Usagi's immobile friends one by one. Makoto had managed to transform and tried to use her electric attack on the fish monster, but succeeded only in electrocuting the others. Ami lay half in half out of the pool, unconscious and Minako was slumped over, obviously staying awake with great difficulty. The creature was standing over Rei who glared at it fiercely but could do nothing but clasp her powerstick in her submerged hand.
"Everyone!" Usagi shouted in vain. She pounded on the window.
Outside the door, Kami listened with an evil smile on her face.
Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune walked hand in hand down the corridors of time. They looked neither right nor left at the countless other paths, but stared straight ahead at their goal. They did not speak to each other, but thought only about what Sailor Pluto had told them. Kami was their enemy, but only because of the dark force controlling her mind. They both resolved to destroy the girl before she could kill Usagi, although neither of them said it out loud. Sacrificed, after all, were to be expected.
The pathway ended abruptly at a large luminescent door. The two scouts didn't break their stride as they marched confidently through and into battle.
Usagi shielded her eyes with her hand against the sudden
brilliant light that erupted in the swimming area. She felt the dread in the pit of her stomach that one of her friends had just died. Usagi steeled herself for the worst and looked back in on the fight. A smile crept over her face.
Kami listened closely. She no longer heard the muted sobs of Usagi in the other room. Her friends must be gone by now. With a confident smile, Kami opened the door. Usagi was standing right behind it and Kami could barely keep the surprise off her face at Usagi's huge grin.
"How about showing me the weight room?" Usagi asked.
"I - uh, of course," Kami gasped. "Follow me, Usagi-chan."
As she led her friend deeper into the gym, Kami wondered why Usagi wasn't in tears at the death of her friends. With a sinking feeling, Kami realized that somehow Aquis had failed her.
"Deep Submerge!" Neptune cried.
The fish monster, barely on its feet again after Uranus' attack, disappeared with a scream. The two outer senshi turned to face the woman who had obviously summoned it here. She blinked in shock and alarm and vanished.
The water returned to its liquid form and both Minako and Ami sunk like stones. Sailor Jupiter dove to catch Minako while Sailor Neptune swam into the deep end and caught Ami. Uranus helped Rei out of the pool.
"Thanks," Rei said. "Where did you two come from?"
Sailor Uranus smiled. "The ends of time."
Sailor Neptune joined them, supporting an awake but very weak Ami. Jupiter came over as well with Minako a few limping steps behind. The group of scouts stared at each other for a few seconds.
"Where is Usagi?" Uranus demanded.
"She left early," Rei said. "I don't know where she ended up."
"There," Ami said, weakly pointing to the observatory windows. "I saw her there."
Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus exchanged a look. Neptune passed Ami to Rei and the two outer senshi left without another word. The inner senshi stared after them in shock.
"Wow," Usagi said. "Look at all the equipment!"
She reached out and hesitantly touched one of the free weights as if it would bite her. Kami watched with a determined smile as around them the exercisers filed out of the room. Darkness spread throughout the weight room, originating from Kami. Only Usagi seemed unaffected by it as she moved to examine the aerobic machines. Kami followed, waiting for her opportunity to strike.
Haruka and Michiru moved determinedly through the gym against the flow of people leaving the weight room. Michiru's face was tense as she felt the waves of darkness sweeping over the gym. Haruka noticed it as well and her hand tightened on Michiru's. Michiru returned the squeeze as they stepped through the doorway and into the weight room. They immediately saw Usagi and Kami standing only a few feet away.
"Hey, Kitten!" Haruka called with a smile on her face.
Usagi looked up and smiled brightly. "Haruka-san! Michiru-san! What are you doing here?"
She ran over to where the two stood and Kami watched. Her eyes caught Michiru's and the two women exchanged dark looks. Haruka kept Usagi distracted.
Time to see if my dark energy has paid off, Kami thought to herself. Aloud, she said "Usagi-chan! Come here and look at this!"
Usagi began to turn away from Haruka and head back to Kami, but Haruka caught her wrist. Usagi continued to move, pulling against the stronger girl's grip.
"Michiru!" Haruka hissed.
"Neptune Planet Power, Make-Up!" Michiru said.
Seconds later, Sailor Neptune was there. She placed herself between Usagi and Kami, but Usagi kept trying to join the other girl across the room.
"Get her out of here," Neptune called to Haruka.
The blond girl nodded and dragged Usagi out of the room. Neptune turned to face Kami. The brown haired girl laughed menacingly and her hair grew black and her skin pale and lifeless. She held out her hands in a cupped shape and a black sphere appeared between them, hovering on its own accord. Neptune assumed a fighting stance.
"Fool!" the dark queen spat. "Do you wish to face me now? Alone?"
Neptune said nothing. The dark queen laughed harder.
"Very well. Meet your end without your friends. They will join you sooner or later. Now, feel the power of Queen Olivine!"
A thin black tendril emerged from the sphere, coiling around like a serpent. Sailor Neptune held her mirror at the ready as the tendril became larger. Queen Olivine raised an eyebrow and quick as lightning, the tendril of pure dark energy shot towards Sailor Neptune, wrapping itself around her. She cried out as the power of the third piece of Chaos began to extract her life-energy.
"Excellent," Olivine said with a smile. "Your pure energy is quite delicious. I almost hate to deprive you of it."
Sailor Neptune glared at Olivine and turned her mirror around in her hand. When the reflective surface faced the sphere, she locked eyes with Olivine.
"Submarine Reflection!" she called.
The sphere wavered, but did not disappear. The tendril loosened, allowing Neptune the opportunity to escape. Summoning the last of her energy, she fled the weight room, leaving a laughing Queen Olivine behind.
In the cool hallway, Neptune took five steps before her mirror fell from nerveless fingers and she began to drop, her energy spent. Strong arms caught her at the last second and she disappeared into blackness.
"How is she?" Usagi asked, her face a mask of worry.
Rei closed the door quietly behind her and smiled. "She just needs some rest. Whatever happened nearly drained her dry of energy."
Haruka punched the wall of Ami's apartment. The pictures on the wall rattled and one fell down. Haruka caught it and handed it to Ami apologetically.
"I should never have left," Haruka muttered. "She faced the evil queen alone."
"It's my fault," Usagi said.
"No, it isn't," Minako told Usagi. "You were caught in her spell. Whoever this evil queen is, she's obviously using Kami to get to us."
"Don't you see?" Haruka cried. "Kami is the evil queen! No one is using her, she is doing all this on her own accord."
Usagi glared at Haruka. "We all knew Kami before you did, Haruka-san. She is not the evil monster this queen is."
Haruka clenched her fists in anger and entered the bedroom where Michiru slept, closing the door behind her. The inner senshi gathered in Ami's room to give the two outer senshi time alone.
The room was dark and Haruka felt her way over to the chair she knew rested by the head of the bed. She looked down at her sleeping partner. Michiru looked beautiful when she was asleep, Haruka thought with a smile. Then again, she always did. Gently, Haruka smooth Michiru's hair away from her face and the girl stirred and woke.
"Haruka?" Michiru asked.
"Shhh," Haruka soothed. "Rest now."
"The queen - Olivine," Michiru muttered sleepily. "Pluto was right. Kami is being controlled."
She drifted back to sleep. Haruka sat with her for the rest of the night, lost in thought.